With the nation of the verge of entering World War II, 20th Century-Fox head, Darryl Zanuck set out to make a series of films to keep Americans up to date on the rapidly changing shape of Europe. The Man I Married was one of those many films. The film was about the rise of Nazism in Germany and the devastating effects it would have on the relationship between Carol Hoffman, played splendidly by Joan Bennett, and her German-American husband, Eric Hoffman, played by Francis Lederer. The story involved their family visit in 1938 to Eric's homeland, where Eric comes to embrace the Nazi regime while his wife becomes horrified by it. This is a powerful film. It was highlighted by the inter-cutting of period news footage that showed the bigotry and brutality of the Nazi regime and Hitler's ugly brand of anti-Semitism. The insight this film shows is all the more remarkable when one considers that it was made before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It is most unfortunate that this film is not better known or on DVD. UPDATE: Now on DVD.
Review of The Man I Married
